


The Greatest Discovery

by villainousLimbo



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multiverse, Profanity, gendered ocs, made up magic systems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:47:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27584978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/villainousLimbo/pseuds/villainousLimbo
Summary: Three modern witches decide that they're going to be the first to make bittybones an actual thing. They heck it up spectacularly and now need to figure out how to save themselves from their favorite fandom. This was not at all what they were aiming for and should probably have aimed for something less complicated than creating a new species based on a popular game.
Relationships: Undecided
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue Your Suffering

Three very close friends sat together in the living room of a cozy stone cottage in a forest that bordered on a lovely seaside city. The cottage belonged to Argent Venus, though he preferred to go by Gen. He appeared to be a _mostly_ ordinary human being of Hispanic descent, the only difference being his sharp wolf-like teeth and bright crimson eyes behind wire square framed glasses. He had black hair styled in a pixie cut and often dressed in a casual gothic style. He had a slender body type and was on the smaller side for a full grown man at only five foot three, a result of his questionable upbringing.

The two people sitting beside him were beloved friends that Gen had had for his entire life. He could not remember a moment of existing without them despite being the oldest and he could not imagine continuing his life without Dess Mercury and Meli Terra in it. Not after everything they had experienced and gone through together. Even after growing into adults the idea of not having each other to rely on was a terrifying prospect.

Of the three the youngest was Meli. While the other two preferred to go by a specific gender, Meli preferred either they/them or she/her as their pronouns. They kept their light brown hair even shorter than Gen in a boyish but adorable cut, her bangs framing their face nicely. They had wide green eyes typically framed by circular wire-frame glasses. She had a pale slender form that was on the smaller side at only five foot one and typically dressed in a business casual style with button ups and jeans.

Dess Mercury fell in the middle when it came to ages. Dess was a cis female and the only one that bothered with having long hair, reaching down to her hips. She usually dyed her hair a lovely lavender color which suited her bright sapphire blue eyes. Though Dess has a sturdier frame she only reached five foot two in height. Due to her more wild nature she tended to dress for the outdoors and an adventure, though all her time outdoors seemed to only add freckles rather than darkening her pale skin.

Close as the three were, Meli had chosen to live in a wooden cottage in the very deepest part of the forest and closer to the mountain. While Dess on the other hand chose to live in the dorms at the university that she had chosen to go to in the city. Even living separately they still found time to talk every day and to visit each other frequently. Mostly during the weekends when Dess had free time from her academic pursuits. One such visit would be the beginning of this particular tale.

“Okay so the next thing we need is asphodel root.” Dess said a thick and very old book open in her lap, her sapphire blue eyes scanning over the page carefully.

“...I’m just going to say this again because we have yet to _stop this_ ; there is no way that a _poppet_ is going to become a _bittybones_! It’s just not what they’re made for!” Gen protested irritably as he added the listed ingredient to the cauldron he had in his fireplace anyway.

“Aw c’mon Gen, have a little hope! I’m sure it’ll work.” Meli encouraged walking over to peek into the concoction as it changed from green to purple.

“This is only experimental Gen it doesn’t actually need to work. Besides, I’m absolutely certain that with your soul magic, Meli’s life magic, and my own mind magic we should theoretically be able to create a small sentient creature of at least some kind. I mean, even that absolute dullard Frankenstein was able to stumble into creating a homunculus; I’m sure a living doll will be far easier.” Dess reasoned turning the page she was on and frowning as she took in the information.

“Frankenstein had an entire storm to help him with his glorified defibrillator at least! I’ve just got a few plants, bones, and my blood!” Gen complained loudly, he did continue to stir the concoction however.

“Which character do we want to make? I don’t think we actually decided.” Meli pointed out after a moment of thought their eyebrows furrowed.

“We should make Horrortale Papyrus first, he _is_ the best character.” Gen suggested immediately tucking a lock of his coal black hair behind his ear.

“...I dunno Gen he’s kinda scary, I like regular Papyrus better. We should do original Papyrus. He's the sweetest bean.” Meli suggested putting their hands on their hips and frowning at Gen.

“Hm...I figured Gen would choose Underfell and you would choose Underswap honestly.” Dess said with a quirk to her lips her eyes flickering over to Meli who shrugged.

“What can I say? I’m soft for cinnamon rolls.” Meli said with a shrug and a little laugh.

“Well how about we go classic then? Just plain toast Sans.” Gen suggested after a few moments.

“You’ll need to add precisely three drops of blood as soon as the potion turns gold.” Dess announced causing Gen to nod in acknowledgement.

“Mmm, yeah you can’t go wrong with a classic, even if that classic _should_ be _Papyrus_.” Meli agreed somewhat reluctantly, Dess smiled as Gen barked out a laugh in response.

“Fine fine. We can do original Papyrus.” Gen conceded rather easily, always soft for his youngest adopted sibling.

“Agreed. Papyrus is a fine first bitty to make.” Dess said smiling warmly at Meli.

“Yay! Happy Pappy comes first!” Meli called celebrating with a zealous twirl.

“Prometheus dared to steal fire from gods, to lift mankind from sorrow, and just as that myth, my mission is this; to write a new tomorrow~” Gen sang softly to himself his sharp teeth showing in a gentle grin.

“Frankenstein again?” Dess prompted with a little giggle.

“I can’t help it! You know it’s my favorite story.” Gen huffed his cheeks darkening as he pouted a little at his adopted sister. “Victor didn’t have to do my boy dirty like that.”

“He was a terrible father really. _We’ll_ be better, no matter how our baby turns out we will love them just the same as each other.” Meli said, nodding to themself firmly.

“No point creating life without taking full responsibility after all.” Gen agreed just as firmly.

“Whatever this experiment yields we will meet the challenge with patience, love, and grace.” Dess vowed just as vehemently.

“And fucking shit up where it’s needed.” Gen cut in with a smirk, Dess and Meli let out startled laughs but agreed. “Ah.”

That was when the potion changed from the violent purple it had been to a soft shimmering gold. Gen noticed immediately and brought his pointer finger to his lips, a single bite and bright crimson fluid flowed freely. Just three drops, three singular moments combining to change the destiny of five universes forever. All in various and accidental ways, but then, the greatest discoveries are often accidents.


	2. Underfell for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gen wakes in a rough world with a lot at stake. Is he really ready to make a difference?

_ Please...someone...anyone...help us… _

There was only blank space in Gen’s memory, from the moment that final drop of blood touched the concoction to the moment he awoke in a snowy forest with no sky. Bone deep exhaustion and cold caused Gen’s mind to lag but after a few moments he realized he was not alone, there was a child leaning over his face. The child had dried tear tracks on their sweet chubby face and it caused Gen’s heart to ache.

“...Did you call me?” Gen muttered without meaning to, his skin almost burning from the cold as his body trembled.

The child seemed startled, their jaw dropping and eyes opening to look at Gen directly. Their eyes were a warm but sad brown, doe eyes. After a moment however Gen realized that they were not the only eyes staring at him so shocked and wide, a strange yellow flower with a face was leaned over him as well. Frowning Gen sat up as his brain tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Surely that was not really  _ Flowey _ , Flowey the flower.

“You...you really came! You came to help us?!” Flowey asked, almost demanding as his voice cracked and clear tears stung at his eyes.

“...I...I guess I did…” Gen was speechless for a few moments before answering, he looked away awkwardly as he realized that he was telling the truth. 

This should have been impossible...even magic had rules and there was no way their experiment should have resulted in an entire universe! He frowned and wrapped his arms around himself hugging his orange hoodie closer to himself. He had been dressed for summer not this horrid winter. Worse than that however was that he did not sense Meli or Dess anywhere! Gen closed his eyes and reached out for the threads that connected him to Meli and Dess, they existed and yet seemed filled with static. He could not sense their emotional state or health as he normally could and he almost spiraled into panic.

“ _ How _ ? We...we’ve called for help  _ so _ many times but... _ how _ , who even  _ are _ you?” Flowey spoke, completely baffled by the change in a timeline that had seemed so certain and set in stone before.

The desperation and depth of emotion in this soulless creature reached into Gen’s heart and pulled Gen from his panic before it could truly begin. It was strange, almost falling into an uncanny valley to see something he could feel did not have a soul or real emotions emit such a powerful echo. Gen frowned at Flowey and Frisk, who stared at him so cautiously their soul practically pulsing with conflicting emotions. The game had always talked about Frisk’s determination as something powerful enough to bend  _ time _ to its will. There in the presence of these children Gen could almost imagine that to be true, there was so much about the situation he was in that should have been impossible. But he had made a promise and he would fulfill it no matter how outside of possibility the situation was.

“My name is Gen, Gen Venus. I’m...just a witch, not a particularly  _ gifted _ or  _ special _ witch either. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to help but...I’ll do my best?” Gen ended the sentence as more of a question than an answer. “Clearly some greater power thought I would be the best to help…”

“What? We’re just supposed to trust some  _ greater power _ after all this?! After all the suffering and hate we’re just supposed to roll along?” Flowey demanded angry but wilting as tears streamed down his face. Frisk seemed to hesitate at his outburst gently petting his petals as though to try and sooth him.

Gen was not sure what universe he was even in, Flowey’s non hostile presence itself casting a million possibilities the first of which definitely  _ not _ being the original Undertale. Gen could  _ feel _ the sincerity of the flower monster, it was almost  _ wrong _ to feel such open sincerity from a sentient being that had only echoes left of a soul long since dissipated. Gen frowned a little and sighed, turning his body to face the children.

“No; no one ever needs to trust anyone but themselves.  _ But _ ! I am offering to help you. I may not be the  _ best _ witch in the universe but I  _ do _ have something most other witches lack.” Gen said, offering to them a warm and secretive smile.

“W-what?” Flowey asked with a sniffle, Frisk looking just as curious.

“I am trained in the art of  _ soul _ magic. There is something that only those that know  _ my _ art are capable of,” Gen cupped his hands around his mouth to whisper to them. It was a  _ forbidden _ art in his own universe after all and he was not at all certain of the laws in the universe he had been pulled into. “I can  _ create _ souls…”

Frisk dropped to their knees as the words registered in their mind, Flowey froze for a moment before his roots and vines loosened on Frisk and he had to right himself and cling more tightly. The despair and desperation that had clouded Frisk and the anger and hopelessness that had weighed upon Flowey seemed to lift almost as though a spell had been cast. They seemed lighter, hopeful in a place that Gen could feel hope had been scarce in before. He stood up to his full height and offered them a hand.

_ *Ping* _

_ _

_ “ **Argent Venus”** _

**_HP 66/33_ **

**_AT 32(0) EXP: 0_ **

**_DF 29(10) NEXT: 10_ **

**_WEAPON: None_ **

**_ARMOR: Orange hoodie_ **

**_GOLD: 0_ **

Gen was rather startled when his soul basically popped out of his chest. Mostly because he had never seen it before. He was almost certain that it did not look like a cartoon heart before arriving in whatever universe he was in but he had more important things to worry about. Namely the tall skeleton pointing a sharpened bone at him.

“SURRENDER NOW HUMAN AND YOUR DEATH SHALL BE PAINLESS.” The tall, gothic skeleton commanded revealing exactly which universe Gen had been pulled into. He would recognize Underfell Papyrus anywhere after all.

“Look dude, let’s just calm down and talk this out.” Gen said firmly glaring at Papyrus undaunted.

“NO NEED. THE KING NEEDS A HUMAN SOUL AND I SEE TWO BEFORE ME. YOU CAN EITHER SURRENDER OR HAND OVER THE CHILD. THE DECISION IS YOURS.” Papyrus stated simply, somehow managing a sharp smirk with his razor teeth.

“C’mon dude, you  _ know _ I ain’t handin’ a kid over. But I  _ really _ don’t wanna hurt ya. How about we just chill for a second and I assure you, we can reach a truce.” Gen told him, grinning widely in his own threatening display of sharp teeth, his fingers coming up to touch his chin.

“ENOUGH! YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT HUMAN!” Papyrus said undeterred, he sprang forward with his bone attack fully intending to kill.

Unfortunately for Papyrus Gen was no ordinary human. Gen instantly snapped his teeth down on his own fingers lacerating the flesh and drawing a flood of blood instantly. He yanked his fingers out, tearing the flesh further and releasing his magic. The magic within his blood caused it to solidify into threatening crimson threads tangled between his fangs and fingers.

Papyrus was fast, but not so much that he was able to strike Gen down before he dodged. The young witch flicked his fingers and instantly a ball of blood strings struck at him. Papyrus was forced to dodge and unable to keep his bone attack from getting struck with the magical fluid and becoming wrapped in what his mind instantly compared to red spider webbing. Papyrus hissed and dropped the bone quickly as the red threads began to spread like a corruption down towards him.

“A MAGE? PERHAPS I WILL FINALLY HAVE AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE!” Papyrus boasted grinning fiercely and without a hint of doubt in himself. Gen truly admired the confidence really, were he simply a spectator he would have cheered for Papyrus.

“I’m not so dull I can’t admit to admiring your brevity. Careful it doesn’t cost ya.” Gen could not help but say an oddly giddy grin sprouting to his face.

Papyrus chose not to speak again instead launching a volley of bone attacks in the form of a hail of sharp femurs. Knowing he would not be able to dodge all of the bones and just a little too sluggish from the cold Gen pulled his threads into a shielding cocoon around himself but only managed to block his vital points. A few of the projectiles managed to lacerate the soft flesh of his arms and legs.

Normally such wounds would mean the recipient would become weaker, however as was the nature of Gen’s magic the blood spilled simply added to his threads. Quickly snaking out and bending to his will. Instead of simply opening his cocoon he twisted it into multiple thick tendrils and snapped them forward in his own attack. The tendrils twisted like tentacles and reached out to grab at Papyrus. Papyrus was not to be deterred however and even the change of shape did not slow him down as he dodged fluidly out of the way.

Papyrus almost seemed to dance around Gen’s reaching tendrils and closed in enough to slam a bone attack right into Gen’s chin. Gen had been too slow to protect his face but quick enough to protect his temple, neck, and eye. Gen was not the quickest around but wrapped himself back up entirely into his cocoon before morphing it to lash out in a spikey shell forcing Papyrus to dodge back into a safe distance to prevent more damage.

Given that Papyrus was fully intending to kill this human he was quite shocked to find that despite the solid hit there was not nearly enough killing intent to do more than bruise his ribs. Nothing he could not simply shrug off and ignore. Growling he launched another barrage furious to know that the human was too  _ soft hearted _ to do real damage to him despite his clear display of raw  _ power _ . The barrage did almost nothing to the cocoon but it did open up enough for the tendrils to return with threatening thorns lining them.

Papyrus was able to dodge quite a few times before Gen was able to close in on him. Papyrus was forced to summon another bone attack to lash out quickly at the crimson webs that snaked up his boot. The sharp bone cut through like a knife separating the threads from the majority connecting to Gen. Acting fast Papyrus summoned even more attacks to launch at Gen. The human quickly wrapped himself back up into his cocoon and Papyrus pierced the cocoon with a volley of bone attacks that turned it into a pin cushion.

Papyrus attempted to take a step fully intending not to give the human another chance to act, but found his boots solidly stuck to the ground. Looking down he was irritated to find that the threads he had thought inactive due to the separation from the human were snaking up his legs like a rapidly spreading stain. He summoned a sharpened bone the size of a dagger and attempted to cut away the threads that were beginning to grow into thick red vines.

Papyrus was shocked to find that his bone dagger did  _ nothing _ to the blood magic, the magic simply allowing his dagger to slide through like water and simply refill the space it passed through instantly. The blood was thickening and moving up his body rapidly and Papyrus finally faltered as he realized that he could feel his body going numb, he was slowing down and everywhere that had already been covered by the blood had been paralyzed.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you, but I can’t let you hurt us either.” Gen said his voice soft as the cocoon opened enough to show his bruised face.

“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS  _ HUMAN _ . I AM NOT THE ONLY MONSTER HUNTING YOU AND ONCE I AM FREE I WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN. YOUR MERCY WILL COST YOU.” Papyrus hissed furiously, calling to his magic to attack again only to find he could no longer move at all and even his magic was not responding to his will any longer.

“Hah! Y’know, with enough time I’m sure you absolutely could slaughter me. But I’m hoping that by the time this is through we can be allies rather than enemies.” Gen confessed with a small laugh.

“ALLIES?! NYAHAHAHA! A BOLD FANTASY FOR SURE!” Papyrus was startled into a cackle even as he was completely cocooned.

Once the cocoon of blood had finished closing around Papyrus he finally surrendered to the forced unconsciousness. Gen sighed finally relaxing his shoulders and allowing his blood to splash into the snow in a vibrant array of gore. Twitching his fingers a few times he commanded the cocoon surrounding Papyrus to form a protective spike shield. It would protect him from any opportunists that thought trying their luck was worth it, a nasty surprise would be the only result.

“Are you okay!? That was Captain Papyrus! Holy moley how are you alive?! What were those attacks!? Is that your blood?!” Flowey’s high voice shouted gradually getting closer as Frisk ran to approach Gen, concern and tears clear on their small face.

“Woah kiddos! It’s all good. But we gotta get goin’ if we wanna go talk to the chump in charge before anyone else finds us and tries to turn me into mince meat.” Gen sighed, he offered a rueful grin.

“I don’t think he’s going to listen though…” Flowey lamented wilting a little again.

“So we’ll make him listen. I’m gettin’ everyone outta this dump even if I gotta shove my entire foot up his lazy ass.” Gen said firmly.

“Heh, and how exactly you plannin’ on doin’ that if ya ain’t keen on given’ up yer soul?” A rough voice cut in startling the three pretty badly.

Flowey, Frisk, and Gen turned to see the monster that spoke.


End file.
